Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa: The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade — John Shaqi
Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa: The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave tradeCorry, Joseph
History
Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa: The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade
Corry, Joseph
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Slave trade -- Africa
The bread-fruit tree, is similar in appearance to the apple tree, and grows
in the low sandy situations of the Boolum shore, producing a fruit
exceedingly nutritious, and larger than an apple.
Tamarinds in great variety and plenty: the velvet tamarind abounds in the
Bananas, also the white and brown; but the latter are most in esteem, and
are very fine.
Okras, the fruit of a small tree, resembling the English mallows, which put
into soup gives it a gelatine quality, highly alimental; the leaves make a
good spinage.
The palm tree, producing the oil so denominated, is one of the most useful
trees to the African, yielding him meat, drink, and raiment. Where it
grows, it is an indication of a good soil. It is remarkably tall, without
branches, having regular and gradual protuberances, from the bottom towards
the top, ending in five or six clusters of nuts, shaded by large deciduous
leaves. The nuts, which are about the size of a hazle nut, have a hard
kernel, encompassed by a clammy unctuous substance, covered by a thin skin,
and the oil is produced from them by being exposed to the sun, which, by
its influence, opens the juices; subsequent to this exposure, the nuts are
put into a boiler full of water, and a liquid, in the process of boiling,
flows upon the top, which when skimmed off, soon hardens and turns rancid;
the kernel of the nut, after this process, is taken out of the boiler, beat
in a paloon, and put into clear water, the shell of the nut sinks, and its
contents float upon the surface, which, when skimmed as before, is finally
put into a pot, fried, and carefully poured off, producing another kind of
oil, used as butter, and having in a great degree its quality.
The wine is extracted from the tree by forming an incision at the bottom of
every cluster of nuts, from each of which flows about a gallon of wine per
day, for a week, when they are closed until the ensuing season. The liquid,
when newly taken from the tree, resembles whey, and in that state has a
sweetish agreeable taste, but it soon ferments and grows sour, changing to
a strong vinegar of a disagreeable smell: in its fermented state it is most
esteemed by the natives, and is productive of inebriety.
A substance overtops the clusters about 10 or 12 inches in diameter, and 3
or 4 feet in height, in a full grown tree, from whence proceeds a stalk,
about 4 inches in length, which, on being boiled in water, makes an
excellent vegetable resembling cabbage, or rather, in taste, the
cauliflower; the leaves of the tree are converted by the natives into
baskets, fishing nets, and cloth.
MEDICINAL PLANTS. _Colla_ is highly esteemed by the natives, and they
attribute to it the virtues of Peruvian bark; the Portuguese, ascribe the
same quality to it, and dispatch from their factories small vessels to
collect all they can procure.
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